


Goodbye, my friend

by CerealWithoutMilk



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Five Stages of Grief, Rip Grian, THESE TAGS WILL BE UPDATED, everyone is sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:42:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29822340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CerealWithoutMilk/pseuds/CerealWithoutMilk
Summary: Grian is dead. And Mumbo has to come to terms with that. But will he be able to?----------I will try to update as often as I can. Hope you enjoy!(Sorry if this idea has already been done by someone else. I just wanted to try!)(Also title may change, I am unsure of a good one currently)
Kudos: 17





	1. I'm sorry

It had just been like any other day. The sun was shining brightly, the animals were wandering about and the server inhabitants were going about their everyday lives. Nothing was different. Impulse had spent the morning restocking lamps plus, and Scar had been running around Aque Town, applying details to the buildings. It was just normal.

Mumbo had been working on Pacific’s redstone all morning. It had taken a while, but he was almost done. Standing up, he brushed the red powder off his extremely messy suit and went over to a nearby shulker box. He opened it, and inside were many redstone components: repeaters, observers, pistons. He dumped all the remaining contents of his inventory inside, and grabbed some golden carrots to eat. How long had it been? He squinted towards the sun, before his communicator pinged. Reaching for it, he went to read the message when a nearby shulker fell over, spilling blocks everywhere. Grumbling to himself quietly, Mumbo set the communicator to silent and set it down to go clean the mess. He could read it later.

He was unaware of the message that came through, and the subsequent flood of messages that came after it.

‘Grian fell from a high place.’

\----------

It was almost noon when Mumbo finished his project. It had taken far longer than expected, but it was worth it. He knelt down to start collecting some stray material that was scattered on the floor, his back to the entrance. It was only at the sound of crazed rocket spam and someone landing ungracefully behind him that he turned around. In front of him was Xisuma, his breathing heaving and body shaking slightly. He was a mess.

“Whoa, X, you alright there mate?”

He was met with no response, the armoured admin still wheezing for air. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Mumbo.” 

Xisuma’s voice cut through the air like a knife. He had looked up to face the moustached hermit, his eyes full of pain and sorrow. He took a step towards Mumbo and placed a firm but shaky hand on his friend's shoulder.

“Have you… have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Have you seen chat recently?”

Mumbo was starting to get worried. Heard what? And why was Xisuma acting like this? What had happened on chat? What was wrong?

“No? I’ve been busy with redstone all day. Xisuma, what’s happened? You’re scaring me.”

Xisuma took a deep breath, his panting having stopped by now. Mumbo hadn't heard. And he was going to have to tell him. 

“It’s… it’s about Grian.”

“What has Grian done now? Did he destroy something? If he did, where is he? I can talk to him! Please X, what’s the matter?”

“Mumbo, no-”

“Tell me X!” Mumbo was almost shouting now. He was scared. What had Grian done that had made the usually calm and collected admin act like this? It was only when Xisuma removed his hand from his shoulder that he was shocked back into reality. He made eye contact with X, who had moved his hands to his helmet and was unclipping it. He never removed his helmet. Something serious had happened.

“Please, what happened with Grian? What’s so wrong?”

Xisuma had removed his helmet by now, revealing the tears that stained his freckled cheeks. His eyes were red, and he looked so, so tired. He took a deep breath and stepped towards Mumbo.

“Mumbo, I’m sorry.. Grian is.." he paused for a second.

"He's dead."


	2. Denial

“What?”

Mumbo took a step back, looking hurt and confused. But there was no emotion in his voice. If anything, he sounded like he’d just been insulted. Xisuma peered towards him, puzzled at the strange reaction. He appeared apprehensive, as if he was waiting for something, anything, to happen. When nothing did, he cleared his throat before going to speak again. 

“He.. he died Mumbo. Earlier today. I’m sorry.”

Still, Mumbo showed no visible signs of change in emotion. He still appeared confused, just as he had been when Xisuma first crashed into Pacific. It was making X nervous - he was usually one of the most emotional Hermits on the server, the smallest things making him shout and scream and cry. If he was delivering this news to Iskall, maybe he’d expect no outburst but this was Mumbo. Not Iskall. But this was starting to alarm X; Grian was Mumbo’s closest friend, they were always together. Sure, everyone reacted differently to the death of loved ones, but he had at least expected some sort of reaction from Mumbo.

\----------

He’d been surprised by his own reaction really. Usually, he was so calm and prepared, ready for anything. He was the admin! He had to stay calm, it was his job to solve problems whilst everyone else freaked out. But when the communicator pinged, and he placed down the concrete, and he checked chat, all of that went out the window. He had gasped, he had shouted, he had cried. He was simply a mess. Although that one understandable - Grian was dead. On his server. He had failed. As an admin he had sworn to protect everyone on this server, and make sure they were happy, but he had failed. Grian was gone, and he was never coming back. He had checked the code time and time again, but it was no use, he couldn’t do anything. 

Xisuma had taken it upon himself to check all the other Hermits. If he couldn’t help Grian, he could at least help them. It wouldn't stop the guilt, but it would stifle it for a while. Many of them had seen the chat, seen the death message. Some had immediately taken to typing, asking questions and calling out. Some were more silent, facing the truth on their own. X knew he had to check Mumbo first, when he didn’t say anything in chat he had to see if the mustached man was okay. In fairness, he expected to find him in hysterics, not happily placing redstone, unaware of the tragedy that had befallen the server. However, now he had told Mumbo, his response was very concerning. Something was wrong.

\----------

“X, I’m not quite sure what you mean.” Mumbo looked towards the admin before turning back to the pile of shulkers nearby. He started sorting through them, attempting to keep his brain busy. From the outside, it looked as if he didn’t care. He’d just been told that his closest friend was dead, and we went right back to sorting redstone! However, on the inside he was fighting an internal battle, one he was desperately trying to block by building what he knew best: redstone.

“Mumbo, ar-”  
“X, I know this is just some silly joke. Wherever Grian is hiding, you can tell him to come out.”

With that he spun around, and leaped into the air, activating the elytra which had been previously stored in his inventory. He soared away into the air, leaving only a mess of redstone and an extremely confused and hurt Xisuma behind. He didn’t know where he was flying to, just anywhere to get away and clear his head. Maybe the shopping district. Maybe… Grumbot. Yeah, he’d go there.

He circled around and gently landed alongside his… child? Yeah, child. He thought back to the mayoral race, when he built it. Happy memories. When he ran for mayor and built his child alongside Grian. Grian… Xisuma had said he’d died. He said he was gone. He rested his back against the cold concrete and slid down the wall, taking a deep breath - it was obviously a joke. Wasn’t it? His head raged with a hurricane of thoughts and emotions, and a tear slid down his cheek. It wasn’t a very funny joke. Where was Grian anyways? Surely he wouldn’t leave him this long?

Mumbo decided to message Grian. He would ask him where he was, and get an answer. Then he could go and find him and tell him how unfunny he was and that he wasn’t ever going to do anything like this again. He would tell him that he loved him, and he would hug him, and never let him go. It would all be normal again and Grian could go start another war or something, whatever he did these days. 

Reaching for his communicator, Mumbo grabbed it and paused. It was shiny, the sun was reflecting off it and casting a beautiful pattern on the floor. It reminded him of the gremlin, Grian… the name also meant sun. It was fitting really, he brought sunlight and happiness wherever he went. Which is why this was definitely just a sick joke, right? Right?

He turned on the communicator and sent a message to Grian on private chat. There was no response. Whilst he waited, Mumbo checked the main chat. The most recent messages were from ten minutes ago, Scar was just repeating ‘no,’ whatever that meant, Bdubs probably asked him a silly question. He scrolled further up, the other hermits messages appearing. They were all so confusing, why were they acting so serious. It was just a joke. Although he was getting worried. Why wasn’t Grian responding?

He scrolled up a little more. Then a little more. A message caught his attention, it was bold. He scrolled back down a little to see it clearer, maybe someone got an achievement? That wasn’t uncommon. It had Grian’s name in-

No.  
Oh no.

Mumbo’s heart stopped. His breathing stopped completely. It wasn’t true. It was a joke. It had to be a joke. Why wasn’t it a joke? He scrolled up and then back down. The message was still there. It wasn’t going. It wasn’t a joke. It was real. Grian was gone. He was not coming back. Ever.

Mumbo had started bawling, the reality of it all hitting him like a truck. Grian was gone. He would never see him again. No more pranks, no more laughter, no more egging. No more Grian. He had to go, Grumbot and the countless memories that came with it suddenly becoming too much to bear. He stood up and tried to take off, but stumbled and fell on the floor. It was no use, what was the point?

With that Mumbo curled into a ball and sobbed silently to himself, alone.

It wasn’t a joke.

Grian was gone.

Forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, here is the next chapter. I thought I'd release this one today as well, just because I thought the first wasn't the greatest. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Anger

It had been a few hours and Mumbo was still curled up in front of Grumbot. Two words were echoing around his head, like a broken record. He’s gone. He’s gone.

He’s gone.

He sat up, screaming. A raw, pain filled scream. All his emotions pouring out at once, having built up the last few hours. Grain was gone. He was gone. And there was nothing he could do about it. His best friend, his companion, was gone. Mumbo placed his hands over his eyes and started shaking his head. Why? Why him? 

A gentle voice shook him out of his thoughts. Someone kneeled down infront of him, placing their hands on his.  
“Mumbo? Are you alright?”

His eyes shot up and were met with Xisuma’s. They were full of worry and concern.  
“Mumbo, speak to me. Please. It’s alright. We’ll get through this. I promise.”

Yeah, they’d get through this. Mumbo sat up a little straighter and relaxed his shoulders, repeating that line. They’d get through this. They’d get through this. He’d get through this.

“Good, try to slow your breathing.” X took a shaky breath himself. “It’ll be okay.”

He helped Mumbo up and the two men turned to face each other. X tried to smile a little, still not wearing his helmet from when he’d removed it. Mumbo just sniffed. Would it be ok? Maybe? Only time would tell. 

“Hey X? Can I.. can I ask you something?” It came out as barely a whisper, but X managed to hear it. He nodded slightly. “Would it have been, uh… would he have been in pain? I don’t want him to have suffered.”

X shook his head forcefully side to side.  
“No! Not at all! I’m sure.. I’m sure it was painless. I checked his code-”

Xisuma’s talking faded into the background. Mumbo could only think one thing. Code. Players had code. Mumbo had code- Grian had code! Xisuma could control the code, maybe he could bring Grian back? Surely it could work, X could do anything! Right! Right?

“Xisuma, you could- you can bring him back! You can bring Grian back to life, back to me! Please, X, I’m begging you, save him.”

Xisuma took a visible gulp and stepped back. He looked unsure, nervous, and he went to start placing his helmet back on. He pulled it up from where he’d conveniently placed it on the floor, and it was only one he had clipped the latches securely into place that he began to answer.

“Mumbo, I tried that. It.. it didn’t work, I was too late. He is gone, but together we’ll be ok. I’m certain that he wouldn't want us to be sad. Please, we can do this. Together.”

The suited hermit took a step back, his fists clenched. No, he was lying. X could get Grian back, he just… he just didn’t want to! He hated Grian so much that he wanted him dead! Mumbo tilted his head towards the armoured hermit and glared at him. His eyes were full of hatred, and his voice was laced with poison.

“You’re lying.” 

“W-what? Mumbo, no! I tried, I really did!” Xisuma’s voice cracked slightly. What was Mumbo doing? He’d never acted like this before. It was strange. First he seemed clueless and now he was blaming others. Something was wrong.

“You hate him. You wanted him dead. You… I bet you murdered him. You-”

“Mumbo!” Xisuma instinctively covered his ears with his hands, despite the fact he had his helmet on. He would never. How dare Mumbo accuse him of this, he loved Grian. Everyone did. X couldn’t imagine causing him pain, let alone removing him from life purposefully. And it was still so fresh, the shock of realising that he is gone, that the gremlin is never coming back. So being accused of causing it, his death, was a hard blow to the admin. He was already suffering with the knowledge that he failed, he could not bring him back, so now he was crushed.

His shattered voice seemed to shake Mumbo out of his thoughts. Loudly sobbing, he turned away and buried his face in his hands. The moustached man immediately realised what he had done, and leaped to X’s side.

“X, my goodness. I- I’m so sorry. That was horrible of me. God, I’m an idiot. It wasn’t your fault, obviously it wasn’t. It was an accident, I understand, you did all you did. Please X, you do not have to forgive me, I probably wouldn’t forgive me. Just know that I meant nothing that I said. You’re amazing, we know that, Grian knows… knew that. He’d understand. I am so sorry.”

Xisuma turned his head slowly towards Mumbo, before looking back at the floor. He sniffed, before pulling out his rockets.

“Thanks, Mumbo. But I need time alone. I- I did fail. You can’t change that. No one can.”

With that, he spammed rockets and flew away, his pained cries lost in the wind. Mumbo sank down onto the platform, head in hands, silently crying. The torment he gone though about Grian had hurt him so much, but the knowledge that he had caused X more pain was crushing him. 

\------------

He spotted the distant shape of the yellow-clad admin flying overhead as he exited his shop. Squinting toward the direction that X had flown from, his blue eye could vaguely make out a hunched over figure by Grumbot. Oh no. Pulling out his rockets and equipping his elytra, Iskall launched himself off the ground and propelled himself towards Mumbo as fast as he could.

He had to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, sorry this chapter took so long! Life recently picked up for me and I decided it would be better if I spent the week adjusting to my new schedule instead of working all day and writing at night. Hope you understand. This means I will probably upload on weekends, but some chapters may take slightly longer as I do want to get quality in there. Thanks, hope you enjoyed. <3

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try and write someone suffering after the death of a loved one, and who better than Mumbo! I was slightly inspired by (spoiler - I think) the reactions of the Dream SMP member's after Tommy's death, and this was made! Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
